The biopic of slain rapper Tupac Shakur finally has a director. John
Singleton has signed on to rewrite, direct and produce the
long-gestating film, according to Variety.

Singleton was previously
linked to the project years ago, but the deal fell through, adding to
one of several hurdles that stalled the project.

Last year, as fans were mourning the anniversary of Shakur’s death at
age 25 due to complications after a 1996 drive-by shooting in Las
Vegas, news broke that the often-delayed project had gained new steam.

Morgan Creek Productions announced it had teamed with Emmett Furla
Oasis Films to co-finance and co-produce the film. At the time producers
were working with a script, and expecting a new draft before production
was supposed to begin this month.

Singleton will soon begin reworking the script, with hopes of beginning production in June, according to the Variety report.

In 2011, Morgan Creek was developing the project, once known as
“Tupac,” with Antoine Fuqua (“Training Day”) attached to direct, and
launched an unsuccessful online casting call to find a lead to fill the
shoes of the polarizing, often-embattled rapper.

The film is expected to chronicle Shakur’s prolific rise as a rapper
and actor, his infamous legal troubles, his time at Death Row Records
and, of course, his killing, which came at the height of the bitter East
Coast-West Coast rap rivalry.

His slaying, like that of peer Christopher Wallace (a.k.a. Notorious
B.I.G.), remains unsolved -- although theories about who gunned down the
two are among hip-hop’s eeriest mythology.

A legal battle between Morgan Creek and Shakur’s mother, Afeni, over
creative control also added to the project's hold-ups -- both parties
eventually settled and Afeni will serve as an executive producer on the
film.

James G. Robinson and David Robinson, along with Program Pictures’ L.T. Hutton, will also produce.

Singleton coming aboard is a major coup for the project.

The director has masterfully explored the complexities of life in
urban America with unflinching social commentary in poignant films such
as “Boyz N the Hood” (which earned him two Academy Award nods), “Higher
Learning” and “Baby Boy.”

More important, he had a close tie with Shakur, having directed the
late rapper in 1993’s “Poetic Justice” alongside Janet Jackson.

“Tupac was the guy who I planned to do a lifetime of films with,”
Singleton said. “His passing deeply affected my life as well as
countless people in this world. His life story is as important to my
generation.”

Sanaa Lathan Will Make A Trip To Mars In 'Ad Inexplorata' From 'Beasts of the Southern Wild' Produce

Sanaa
Lathan will star opposite Mark Strong in an indie sci-fi movie titled
Ad Inexplorata, to be written and directed by Mark Elijah Rosenberg, and
produced by Beasts of the Southern Wild producers Josh Penn and Matt
Parker.

In the film, Strong will play a NASA pilot who's
on a one-way mission to Mars, while Lathan will play the Captain of one
of four ships making the same trip.

The project, which was
developed at the Sundance Screenwriters Lab, is Strong's feature
directorial debut. The filmmaker, who also happens to be founder of
Rooftop Films, won the 2014 Sundance Institute/NHK Award - an honor that
supports filmmakers considered visionary, on their next films.

It's worth noting that Benh Zeitlin (Beasts of the Southern Wild) previously won the award.

Sanaa Lathan most recently co-starred in Malcolm D. Lee's The Best Man Holiday.

She's no stranger to sci-fi, after having starred in 2004's AVP: Alien vs. Predator.

Sundance Film: ‘Dear White People’ (Video)

Have you seen a sneak preview of Justin Simien’s film ‘Dear White People‘?
Recently awarded the Sundance 2014 U.S. ‘Dramatic Special Jury Award’
for Breakthrough Talent, Simien turns stereotypical cliches of what it
means to be black in America into a visually beautiful and
stimulating satire that is sure to awaken all of your cinematic senses
and most of all your funny bone.

Synopsis:

Remember
when Black movies didn’t necessarily star a dude in a fat suit and a
wig? Or have major plot twists timed to Gospel numbers for no apparent
reason? No? Damn…

Well
believe it or not there was a time when “Black Art-House” was a thing.
When movies like Do The Right Thing, Hollywood Shuffle, and Boyz In The
Hood were breaking box office records as well as making us laugh, cry,
and think in ways movies hadn’t before.

The humble producers of DEAR WHITE PEOPLE, a satire about being a black face in a white place, long to bring those days back…

DEAR WHITE PEOPLE follows the stories of four black students at an
Ivy League college where a riot breaks out over a popular “African
American” themed party thrown by white students. With tongue planted
firmly in cheek, the film will explore racial identity in “post-racial”
America while weaving a universal story of forging one’s unique path in
the world.

“Culture is
ubiquitous. From the time a person is born, television, movies, cliques
in school and Abercrombie and Fitch ads subtlety suggest to them on a
subconscious level who they should and should not be due to their race,
gender, looks and sexual orientation (just to name a few). Identity is a
powerful concept. It can open up potential and it can severely limit
it.” -Writer/Director/Producer Justin Simien

You cannot post new topics in this forumYou cannot reply to topics in this forumYou cannot delete your posts in this forumYou cannot edit your posts in this forumYou cannot create polls in this forumYou cannot vote in polls in this forum